Vehicle to vehicle telematics

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of analyzing a target vehicle based on other vehicles are disclosed. One or more computing devices may receive monitoring vehicle driving data collected from vehicle operation sensors within at least one monitoring vehicle by a telematics device. The one or more computing devices may further receive target vehicle driving data from the telematics device of the at least one monitoring vehicle. The one or more computing devices may determine a driving behavior associated with the target vehicle based on an analysis of the monitoring vehicle driving data and the target vehicle driving data. The one or more computing devices may calculate one or more driver scores based on the driving behavior.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED-APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/057,386, filed Mar. 1, 2016. This application is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Various vehicle-based communication systems allow vehicles tocommunicate with other devices inside or outside of the vehicle. Forexample, a Bluetooth system may enable communication between the vehicleand the driver's mobile phone. Telematics systems (e.g., on-boarddiagnostics (OBD) systems installed within vehicles) may be configuredto access vehicle computers and sensor data and transmit the data to adisplay within the vehicle, a personal computer or mobile device, or toa centralized data processing system. Data obtained from OBD systems hasbeen used for a variety of purposes, including maintenance, diagnosis,and analysis. Additionally, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communicationsystems can be used to provide drivers with safety warnings andcollision alerts based on data received from other nearby vehiclesand/or to evaluate other drivers on the road.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not anextensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identifykey or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope ofthe disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts ofthe disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the descriptionbelow.

Aspects of the disclosure may include a driving analysis computingdevice comprising a processor and at least one memory storingcomputer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor,cause the driving analysis computing device to receive monitoringvehicle driving data collected from vehicle operation sensors within atleast one monitoring vehicle by a telematics device within the at leastone monitoring vehicle, receive, from the telematics device of the atleast one monitoring vehicle, target vehicle driving data, perform ananalysis of the monitoring vehicle driving data and the target vehicledriving data, determine a driving behavior associated with the targetvehicle based on the analysis of the monitoring vehicle driving data andthe target vehicle driving data received from the telematics device ofthe at least one monitoring vehicle, and output the determined drivingbehavior associated with the at least one target vehicle.

In one aspect, the driving analysis computing device may calculate adriver grade for the target vehicle or a driver of the target vehiclebased on the determined driving behavior. The target vehicle drivingdata may be transmitted from the target vehicle to the at least onemonitoring vehicle using vehicle-to-vehicle communications. The targetvehicle driving data transmitted from the target vehicle to the at leastone monitoring vehicle may include at least one selected from the groupconsisting of a speed of the target vehicle, a position of the targetvehicle, and a direction of travel of the target vehicle. The targetvehicle driving data may include a driver score associated with thetarget vehicle or a driver of the target vehicle. Determining thedriving behavior may include determining a first relative position ofthe target vehicle with respect to the at least one monitoring vehicleat a first time and determining a relative position of the targetvehicle with respect to the at least one monitoring vehicle at a secondtime after the first time. Determining the driving behavior may furtherinclude determining that the target vehicle tailgated the at least onemonitoring vehicle, based on the first and second relative positions andthe first and second times. Alternatively, determining the drivingbehavior may further include determining that the target vehicle cut offthe at least one monitoring vehicle, based on the first and secondrelative positions and the first and second times.

Aspects of the disclosure may include a computer-implemented methodcomprising receiving, by a driving analysis computing device, monitoringvehicle driving data corresponding to monitoring vehicle operation dataof at least one monitoring vehicle, receiving, via vehicle-to-vehiclecommunication, target vehicle driving data corresponding to targetvehicle operation data of at least one target vehicle, performing, bythe driving analysis computing device, an analysis of the monitoringvehicle driving data and the target vehicle driving data, determining,by the driving analysis computing device, a driving behavior associatedwith the at least one target vehicle based on the analysis of themonitoring vehicle driving data and the target vehicle driving data, andoutputting, by the driving analysis computing device, the determineddriving behavior associated with the at least one target vehicle.

In one aspect, the computer-implemented method may further comprisecalculating a driver grade for the at least one target vehicle or adriver of the at least one target vehicle based on the determineddriving behavior. The computer-implemented method may further compriseretrieving, by the driving analysis computing device, historical drivingbehavior associated with the at least one target vehicle, wherein thedriver grade for the at least one target vehicle is further calculatedbased on the historical driving behavior associated with the at leastone target vehicle. The target vehicle driving data received viavehicle-to-vehicle communication may include at least one selected fromthe group consisting of a speed of the at least one target vehicle, aposition of the at least one target vehicle, and a direction of travelof the at least one target vehicle. The target vehicle driving datareceived via vehicle-to-vehicle communication may include a driver scoreassociated with the at least one target vehicle or a driver of the atleast one target vehicle. Determining the driving behavior may includedetermining a first relative position of the target vehicle with respectto the at least one monitoring vehicle at a first time and determining arelative position of the target vehicle with respect to the at least onemonitoring vehicle at a second time after the first time. Determiningthe driving behavior may further include determining that the targetvehicle tailgated the at least one monitoring vehicle, based on thefirst and second relative positions and the first and second times.Alternatively, determining the driving behavior may further includedetermining that the target vehicle cut off the at least one monitoringvehicle, based on the first and second relative positions and the firstand second times.

Aspects of the disclosure may include a driving analysis computingdevice comprising a processor and at least one memory storingcomputer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor,cause the driving analysis computing device to receive monitoringvehicle driving data collected from vehicle operation sensors within atleast one monitoring vehicle by a telematics device within the at leastone monitoring vehicle, receive, from the telematics device of themonitoring vehicle, target vehicle driving data, receive user input froma driver of the at least one monitoring vehicle, the user inputincluding an indication of a driving behavior of a driver of the targetvehicle, perform an analysis of the monitoring vehicle driving data, thetarget vehicle driving data received from the telematics device of themonitoring vehicle, and the received user input, determine a drivingbehavior associated with the target vehicle based on the analysis of themonitoring vehicle driving data, the target vehicle driving datareceived from the telematics device of the monitoring vehicle, and thereceived user input, and output the determined driving behaviorassociated with the at least one target vehicle. In one aspect of thedisclosure, the user input may be received from a mobile device of thedriver of the at least one monitoring vehicle.

The details of these and other aspects of the disclosure are set forthin the accompanying drawings and description below. Other features andadvantages of aspects of the disclosure will be apparent from thedescription and drawings. The driving analysis computing device mayfurther receive data transmitted by the target vehicle to the at leastone monitoring vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communications anddisplay, via a graphical user interface, the data transmitted by thetarget vehicle. The user input received from the driver of the at leastone monitoring vehicle may further include the identity of the targetvehicle or the driver of the target vehicle

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way oflimitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings. Aspects of thedisclosure may be implemented in certain parts, steps, and embodimentsthat will be described in detail in the following description andillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals indicate similar elements. It will be appreciated with thebenefit of this disclosure that the steps illustrated in theaccompanying figures may be performed in other than the recited orderand that one or more of the steps may be optional. It will also beappreciated with the benefit of this disclosure that one or morecomponents illustrated in the accompanying figures may be positioned inother than the disclosed arrangement and that one or more of thecomponents illustrated may be optional.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network environment and computing systems that maybe used to implement one or more aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating various components and devices of adriving analysis system, according to one or more aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of analyzingvehicle driving data, determining driving behaviors, and calculatingdriver grades/scores using vehicle-to-vehicle communications, accordingto one or more aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4E are diagrams illustrating examples of various drivingbehaviors that may be detected using vehicle-to-vehicle communications,according to one or more aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of analyzingvehicle driving data, determining driving behaviors, and calculatingdriver grades/scores, according to one or more aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of analyzingvehicle driving data, determining driving behaviors, and calculatingdriver grades/scores, according to one or more aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of analyzingvehicle driving data, determining driving behaviors, and calculatingdriver grades/scores, according to one or more aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a user interface that may be displayed on a drivinganalysis computing device, according to one or more aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates another user interface that may be displayed on adriving analysis computing device, according to one or more aspects ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration, various embodiments of thedisclosure that may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon reading thefollowing disclosure, various aspects described herein may be embodiedas a method, a computer system, or a computer program product.Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardwareembodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combiningsoftware and hardware aspects. Furthermore, such aspects may take theform of a computer program product stored by one or morecomputer-readable storage media having computer-readable program code,or instructions, embodied in or on the storage media. Any suitablecomputer readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or anycombination thereof. In addition, various signals representing data orevents as described herein may be transferred between a source and adestination in the form of electromagnetic waves traveling throughsignal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/orwireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward methods,computer-readable media, software, systems and apparatuses that providea vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications system that may be used tocollect data from other vehicles (e.g., target vehicles) and to gradethe other vehicles or their drivers. Collecting data in this mannerallows for an entity (e.g., an insurance provider) to collect dataabout/from vehicles that are not subscribers to the entity's telematicsprogram (e.g., drivers who are customers of the insurance provider butdo not subscribe to or participate in a telematics program, drivers whoare not customers of the insurance provider (e.g., do not have aninsurance policy with the insurance provider) and do not subscribe to orparticipate in a telematics program, or the like). Information collectedregarding target vehicles can be used, for example, for the purposes ofinsurance rating, routing or car resale value.

In certain embodiments, the vehicle-to-vehicle communications systeminvolves automated analysis of at least one moving vehicle (e.g., atarget vehicle) by at least one other vehicle (e.g., a monitoringvehicle). The monitoring vehicle(s) may include vehicles associated withusers who participate in a telematics program of an insurance provider(e.g., drivers who are customers of the insurance provider and subscribeto or participate in a telematics program, drivers who subscribe to orparticipate in a telematics program but are not customers of theinsurance provider (e.g., do not have an insurance policy with theinsurance provider), or the like). In some examples, participation inthe telematics program may include downloading and running a V2Vtelematics application on a user mobile device and/or placing atelematics device in a vehicle. The monitoring vehicle(s) collect data(e.g., telematics data, the identity of the target vehicle or the driverof the target vehicle, etc.) from the target vehicle when the targetvehicle is near the monitoring vehicles. In some variations, thecollected data is used to calculate a grade and/or score for the targetvehicle or driver of the target vehicle.

In other embodiments, the V2V system allows third-party users (e.g.,drivers of monitoring vehicles, users who participate in a telematicsprogram of an insurance provider, etc.) to manually provide informationregarding at least one target vehicle and the particular behavior of theat least one target vehicle driver (e.g., the identity of the targetvehicle or the driver of the target vehicle, one or more behaviors ofthe driver of the target vehicle (e.g., the driver of the target vehicleis driving erratically, eating, shaving, talking on a telephone,texting, using a mobile device, applying cosmetics, etc.), etc.) via adriving analysis computing device (e.g., a mobile device running a V2Vtelematics application). In certain variations, the information providedby the third-party user(s) may include a grade for the target vehicle ordriver of the target vehicle. In some embodiments, the third-party usermay manually input the information upon witnessing the particularbehavior of the target vehicle, without any prompt from the drivinganalysis computing device. The driving analysis computing device maygenerate and display one or more driver behavior screens which depictone or more negative driving behaviors (vehicle hard braking, speeding,acceleration, sharp turns, eating, shaving, talking on a telephone,texting, using a mobile device, applying cosmetics, etc.). Theinformation regarding the target vehicle(s) or driver of the targetvehicle(s) may be input orally or by tapping on a portion of the driverbehavior screen(s) corresponding to one or more negative drivingbehaviors of the driver of the target vehicle, as will be discussed morefully below.

In one or more embodiments, the vehicle-to-vehicle communications systeminvolves a combination of manual third-party user analysis and automatedanalysis of at least one target vehicle by at least one monitoringvehicle. Using V2V communications, nearby vehicles transmit vehicledriving data (e.g., telematics data, the identity of the target vehicleor the driver of the target vehicle, etc.) to the driving analysiscomputing device. For instance, the vehicle data may be received fromone or more vehicles or telematics devices associated with vehicles ofusers who are subscribers to an insurance provider's telematics program.Upon receiving the vehicle driving data from the target vehicle over V2Vcommunications, the driving analysis computing device may prompt thethird-party user to manually input, via a graphical user interface,information regarding the target vehicle or driver of the targetvehicle. In certain instances, the driving analysis computing devicedisplay may first display the data transmitted by the other vehicle(e.g., a monitoring vehicle) to the user via the graphical userinterface. Instead of, or in addition to displaying the data transmittedby the other vehicle to the user via the graphical user interface, thedriving analysis computing device may generate and display one or moredriver behavior screens which depict one or more negative drivingbehaviors (vehicle hard braking, speeding, acceleration, sharp turns,eating, shaving, talking on a telephone, texting, using a mobile device,applying cosmetics, etc.). The information regarding the targetvehicle(s) or driver of the target vehicle(s) may be input orally or bytapping on a portion of the driver behavior screen(s) corresponding toone or more negative driving behaviors of the driver of the targetvehicle.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device 101 in drivinganalysis communication system 100 that may be used according to one ormore illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. The driving analysisdevice 101 may have a processor 103 for controlling overall operation ofthe device 101 and its associated components, including RAM 105, ROM107, input/output module 109, and memory 115. The computing device 101,along with one or more additional devices (e.g., terminals 141, 151) maycorrespond to any of multiple systems or devices, such as drivinganalysis computing devices or systems, configured as described hereinfor transmitting and receiving vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications,analyzing vehicle driving data, determining driving behaviors, andcalculating driver grades and/or scores, based on the V2Vcommunications.

Input/Output (I/O) 109 may include a microphone, keypad, touch screen,and/or stylus through which a user of the computing device 101 mayprovide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker forproviding audio output and a video display device for providing textual,audiovisual and/or graphical output. Software may be stored withinmemory 115 and/or storage to provide instructions to processor 103 forenabling device 101 to perform various functions. For example, memory115 may store software used by the device 101, such as an operatingsystem 117, application programs 119, and an associated internaldatabase 121. Processor 103 and its associated components may allow thedriving analysis system 101 to execute a series of computer-readableinstructions to transmit or receive vehicle driving data, analyzedriving data, identify driving behaviors, and calculate driver gradesand/or scores. In certain embodiments, the processor 103 and itsassociated components may allow the driving analysis system 101 toexecute a series of computer-readable instructions to transmit orreceive vehicle driving data of a non-customer/non-subscribervehicle/driver (e.g., a driver not subscribed to an insurance provider'stelematics program and/or not a customer of the insurance provider(e.g., do not have an insurance policy with the insurance provider)),analyze the driving data, identify driving behaviors, and calculatedriver grades and/or scores for the non-subscriber/non-customer.

The driving analysis computing device 101 may operate in a networkedenvironment 100 supporting connections to one or more remote computers,such as terminals/devices 141 and 151. Driving analysis computing device101, and related terminals/devices 141 and 151, may include devicesinstalled in vehicles (e.g., monitoring and/or target vehicle(s)),mobile devices that may travel within vehicles, or devices outside ofvehicles that are configured to receive and process vehicle and drivingdata. Thus, the driving analysis computing device 101 andterminals/devices 141 and 151 may each include personal computers (e.g.,laptop, desktop, or tablet computers), servers (e.g., web servers,database servers, etc.), vehicle-based devices (e.g., on-board vehiclecomputers, short-range vehicle communication systems, telematicsdevices, etc.), or mobile communication devices (e.g., mobile phones,portable computing devices, and the like), and may include some or allof the elements described above with respect to the driving analysiscomputing device 101. The network connections depicted in FIG. 1 includea local area network (LAN) 125 and a wide area network (WAN) 129, and awireless telecommunications network 133, but may also include othernetworks. When used in a LAN networking environment, the drivinganalysis computing device 101 may be connected to the LAN 125 through anetwork interface or adapter 123. When used in a WAN networkingenvironment, the device 101 may include a modem 127 or other means forestablishing communications over the WAN 129, such as network 131 (e.g.,the Internet). When used in a wireless telecommunications network 133,the device 101 may include one or more transceivers, digital signalprocessors, and additional circuitry and software for communicating withwireless computing devices 141 (e.g., mobile phones, short-range vehiclecommunication systems, vehicle telematics devices) via one or morenetwork devices 135 (e.g., base transceiver stations) in the wirelessnetwork 133.

It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areillustrative and other means of establishing a communications linkbetween the computers may be used. The existence of any of variousnetwork protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like, andof various wireless communication technologies such as GSM, CDMA, WiFi,and WiMAX, is presumed, and the various computing devices and drivinganalysis system components described herein may be configured tocommunicate using any of these network protocols or technologies.

Additionally, one or more application programs 119 used by the drivinganalysis computing device 101 may include computer executableinstructions (e.g., driving behavior analysis programs, driver gradealgorithms and driver score algorithms) for transmitting and receivingvehicle driving data, determining driving behaviors, calculating drivergrades for one or more vehicles or drivers, calculating driver scoresfor one or more vehicles or drivers, and performing other relatedfunctions as described herein.

As used herein, a driver score (or driving score) may refer to ameasurement of driving abilities, safe driving habits, and other driverinformation. A driver score may be a rating generated by an insuranceprovider, financial instruction, or other organization, based on thedriver's age, vision, medical history, driving record, and/or otheraccount data relating to the driver. For example, an insurance providerserver may periodically calculate (e.g., adjust) driver scores for oneor more of the insurance provider's customers, and may use the driverscores to perform insurance analyses and determinations (e.g., determinecoverage, calculate premiums and deductibles, award safe driverdiscounts and rewards, etc.). Similarly, an insurance provider servermay periodically evaluate drivers who are not subscribers of theinsurance provider's telematics program and/or not customers of theinsurance provider (e.g., do not have an insurance policy with theinsurance provider). Scores related to the non-subscriber/non-customerdrivers may be calculated or adjusted based on data received from othervehicles (e.g., monitoring vehicles), such as subscriber/customervehicles. As discussed below, a driver score may be calculated based ondriving data collected by a vehicle sensor(s) and telematics device(s),and/or additional data received from other nearby vehicles usingvehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. For example, if a driverconsistently drives at a safe following distance, yields appropriatelyto approaching cars, and practices defensive avoidance while driving intraffic, then the driver may be given a high or positive driver score.Alternatively, if a driver regularly tailgates, cuts-off, or races withother cars in traffic, then the driver may be given a low or negativedriver score.

It should be understood that a driver score, as used herein, may beassociated with an individual, group of individuals, or a vehicle. Forinstance, in certain embodiments, a family, group of friends orco-workers, or other group that shares one or more vehicles may have asingle driver score that is shared by the group. In one or morevariations, a vehicle may have an associated driver score that is basedon one or more primary drivers of the vehicle and can be affected by thedriving behavior of any the vehicle's drivers. In other embodiments, avehicle may be configured to identify different drivers, and each driverof the vehicle may have a separate driver score.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an illustrative driving analysis system 200including two vehicles 210 and 220, a driving analysis server 250, andadditional related components. Each component shown in FIG. 2 may beimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of the two.Additionally, each component of the driving analysis system 200 mayinclude a computing device (or system) having some or all of thestructural components described above for computing device 101.

Vehicles 210 and 220 in the driving analysis system 200 may be, forexample, automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, buses, recreationalvehicles, boats, airplanes or other vehicles for which vehicle drivingdata may be analyzed and for which driver scores may be calculated. Thevehicles 210 and 220 may or may not be insurance provider customersand/or may or may not be subscribers to the insurance provider'stelematics program. In some embodiments, the vehicle 210 may be amonitoring vehicle and the user associated with the monitoring vehiclemay be a customer of the insurance provider and a subscriber to theinsurance provider's telematics program; while vehicle 220 may be atarget vehicle of a user who is not a subscriber to the insuranceprovider's telematics program. In other embodiments, the vehicle 210 maybe a monitoring vehicle and the user associated with the monitoringvehicle is a subscriber to the insurance provider's telematics programbut is not a customer of the insurance provider (e.g., does not have aninsurance policy with the insurance provider); while vehicle 220 may bea target vehicle of a user who is not a subscriber to the insuranceprovider's telematics program. In one or more embodiments, the targetvehicle 220 is a customer of the insurance provider. In othervariations, the target vehicle is not a customer of the insuranceprovider. The vehicles 210 and 220 each include vehicle operationsensors 211 and 221 capable of detecting and recording variousconditions at the vehicle and operational parameters of the vehicle. Forexample, sensors 211 and 221 may detect and store data corresponding tothe vehicle's location (e.g., GPS coordinates), speed and direction,rates of acceleration or braking, and specific instances of suddenacceleration, braking, and swerving. Sensors 211 and 221 also may detectand store data received from the vehicle's 210 internal systems, such asimpact to the body of the vehicle, air bag deployment, headlights usage,brake light operation, door opening and closing, door locking andunlocking, cruise control usage, hazard lights usage, windshield wiperusage, horn usage, turn signal usage, seat belt usage, phone and radiousage within the vehicle, maintenance performed on the vehicle, andother data collected by the vehicle's computer systems.

Additional sensors 211 and 221 may detect and store the external drivingconditions, for example, external temperature, rain, snow, light levels,and sun position for driver visibility. For example, external camerasand proximity sensors 211 and 221 may detect other nearby vehicles,traffic levels, road conditions, traffic obstructions, animals,cyclists, pedestrians, and other conditions that may factor into adriving event data analysis. Sensors 211 and 221 also may detect andstore data relating to moving violations and the observance of trafficsignals and signs by the vehicles 210 and 220. Additional sensors 211and 221 may detect and store data relating to the maintenance of thevehicles 210 and 220, such as the engine status, oil level, enginecoolant temperature, odometer reading, the level of fuel in the fueltank, engine revolutions per minute (RPMs), and/or tire pressure.

Vehicles sensors 211 and 221 also may include cameras and/or proximitysensors capable of recording additional conditions inside or outside ofthe vehicles 210 and 220. For example, internal cameras may detectconditions such as the number of the passengers, types of passengers(e.g. adults, children, teenagers, pets, etc.) and identity ofpassengers in the vehicles, and potential sources of driver distractionwithin the vehicle (e.g., pets, phone usage, unsecured objects in thevehicle, etc.). Sensors 211 and 221 also may be configured to collectdata a driver's movements or the condition of a driver. For example,vehicles 210 and 220 may include sensors that monitor a driver'smovements, such as the driver's eye position and/or head position, etc.Additional sensors 211 and 221 may collect data regarding the physicalor mental state of the driver, such as fatigue or intoxication. Thecondition of the driver may be determined through the movements of thedriver or through other sensors (e.g., sensors that detect alcoholcontent in the air or blood alcohol content of the driver, such as abreathalyzer).

Certain vehicle sensors 211 and 221 also may collect informationregarding the driver's route choice, whether the driver follows a givenroute, and to classify the type of trip (e.g. commute, errand, newroute, etc.). In certain embodiments, sensors and/or cameras 211 and 221may determine when and how often the vehicles 210 and 220 stay in asingle lane or stray into other lanes. A Global Positioning System(GPS), locational sensors positioned inside the vehicles 210 and 220,and/or locational sensors or devices external to the vehicles 210 and220 may be used to determine the route, lane position, and other vehicleposition/location data.

The data collected by vehicle sensors 211 and 221 may be stored and/oranalyzed within the respective vehicles 210 and 220, and/or may betransmitted to one or more external devices. For example, as shown inFIG. 2, sensor data may be transmitted via short-range communicationsystems 212 and 222 to other nearby vehicles. Additionally, the sensordata may be transmitted via telematics devices 213 and 223 to one ormore remote computing devices, such as driving analysis server 250.

Short-range communication systems 212 and 222 are vehicle-based datatransmission systems configured to transmit vehicle operational data toother nearby vehicles, and to receive vehicle operational data fromother nearby vehicles. In some embodiments, communication systems 212and 222 may use the dedicated short-range communications (DSRC)protocols and standards to perform wireless communications betweenvehicles. In the United States, 75 MHz in the 5.850-5.925 GHz band havebeen allocated for DSRC systems and applications, and various other DSRCallocations have been defined in other countries and jurisdictions.However, short-range communication systems 212 and 222 need not useDSRC, and may be implemented using other short-range wireless protocolsin other embodiments, such as WLAN communication protocols (e.g., IEEE802.11), Bluetooth (e.g., IEEE 802.15.1), or one or more of theCommunication Access for Land Mobiles (CALM) wireless communicationprotocols and air interfaces. The vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmissionsbetween the short-range communication systems 212 and 222 may be sentvia DSRC, Bluetooth, satellite, GSM infrared, IEEE 802.11, WiMAX, RFID,and/or any suitable wireless communication media, standards, andprotocols. In certain systems, short-range communication systems 212 and222 may include specialized hardware installed in vehicles 210 and 220(e.g., transceivers, antennas, etc.), while in other examples thecommunication systems 212 and 222 may be implemented using existingvehicle hardware components (e.g., radio and satellite equipment,navigation computers) or may be implemented by software running on themobile devices 215 and 225 of drivers and passengers within the vehicles210 and 220.

The range of V2V communications between vehicle communication systems212 and 222 may depend on the wireless communication standards andprotocols used, the transmission/reception hardware (e.g., transceivers,power sources, antennas, etc.), and other factors. Short-range V2Vcommunications may range from just a few feet to many miles, anddifferent types of driving behaviors may be determined depending on therange of the V2V communications. For example, V2V communications rangingonly a few feet may be sufficient for a driving analysis computingdevice 101 in one vehicle to determine that another vehicle istailgating or cut-off the vehicle, whereas longer communications mayallow the device 101 to determine additional types of driving behaviors(e.g., yielding, defensive avoidance, proper response to a safetyhazard, etc.).

V2V communications also may include vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)communications, such as transmissions from vehicles to non-vehiclereceiving devices, for example, toll booths, rail road crossings, androad-side traffic monitoring devices. Certain V2V communication systemsmay periodically broadcast data from a vehicle 210 to any other vehicle,or other infrastructure device capable of receiving the communication,within the range of the vehicle's transmission capabilities. Forexample, a vehicle 210 may periodically broadcast (e.g., every 0.1second, every 0.5 seconds, every second, every 5 seconds, every 10seconds, every 20 seconds, every 30 seconds, etc.) certain vehicleoperation data via its short-range communication system 212, regardlessof whether or not any other vehicles or reception devices are in range.In other examples, a vehicle communication system 212 may first detectnearby vehicles and receiving devices, and may initialize communicationwith each by performing a handshaking transaction before beginning totransmit its vehicle operation data to the other vehicles and/ordevices.

The types of vehicle operational data, or vehicle driving data,transmitted by vehicles 210 and 220 may depend on the protocols andstandards used for the V2V communication, the range of communications,and other factors. In certain examples, vehicles 210 and 220 mayperiodically broadcast corresponding sets of similar vehicle drivingdata, such as the location (which may include an absolute location inGPS coordinates or other coordinate systems, and/or a relative locationwith respect to another vehicle or a fixed point), speed, and directionof travel. In certain examples, the nodes in a V2V communication system(e.g., vehicles and other reception devices) may use internal clockswith synchronized time signals, and may send transmission times withinV2V communications, so that the receiver may calculate its distance fromthe transmitting node based on the difference between the transmissiontime and the reception time. The state or usage of the vehicle's 210controls and instruments may also be transmitted, for example, whetherthe vehicle is accelerating, braking, turning, and by how much, and/orwhich of the vehicle's instruments are currently activated by the driver(e.g., head lights, turn signals, hazard lights, cruise control, 4-wheeldrive, traction control, etc.). Vehicle warnings such as a detection bythe vehicle's 210 internal systems that the vehicle is skidding, that animpact has occurred, or that the vehicle's airbags have been deployed,also may be transmitted in V2V communications. In various otherexamples, any data collected by any vehicle sensors 211 and 221potentially may be transmitted via V2V communication to other nearbyvehicles or infrastructure devices receiving V2V communications fromcommunication systems 212 and 222. Further, additional vehicle drivingdata not from the vehicle's sensors (e.g., vehicle make/model/yearinformation, driver insurance information, driving route information,vehicle maintenance information, driver scores, etc.) may be collectedfrom other data sources, such as a driver's or passenger's mobile device215 or 225, driving analysis server 250, and/or another externalcomputer system 230, and transmitted using V2V communications to nearbyvehicles and other receiving devices using communication systems 212 and222.

As shown in FIG. 2, the data collected by vehicle sensors 211 and 221also may be transmitted to a driving analysis server 250, and one ormore additional external servers and devices via telematics devices 213and 223. Telematics devices 213 and 223 may be computing devicescontaining many or all of the hardware/software components as thecomputing device 101 depicted in FIG. 1. As discussed above, thetelematics devices 213 and 223 may receive vehicle operation data anddriving data from vehicle sensors 211 and 221, and may transmit the datato one or more external computer systems (e.g., driving analysis server250 of an insurance provider, financial institution, or other entity)over a wireless transmission network. Telematics devices 213 and 223also may be configured to detect or determine additional types of datarelating to real-time driving and the condition of the vehicles 210 and220. In certain embodiments, the telematics devices 213 and 223 maycontain or may be integral with one or more of the vehicle sensors 211and 221. The telematics devices 213 and 223 also may store the type oftheir respective vehicles 210 and 220, for example, the make, model,trim (or sub-model), year, and/or engine specifications, as well asother information such as vehicle owner or driver information, insuranceinformation, and financing information for the vehicles 210 and 220.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, telematics devices 213 and 223 mayreceive vehicle driving data from vehicle sensors 211 and 221, and maytransmit the data to a driving analysis server 250. However, in otherembodiments, one or more of the vehicle sensors 211 and 221 may beconfigured to transmit data directly to a driving analysis server 250without using a telematics device. For instance, telematics devices 213and 223 may be configured to receive and transmit data from certainvehicle sensors 211 and 221, while other sensors may be configured todirectly transmit data to a driving analysis server 250 without usingthe telematics devices 213, 223. Thus, telematics devices 213 and 223may be optional in certain embodiments.

In certain embodiments, mobile computing devices 215 and 225 within thevehicles 210 and 220 may be used to collect vehicle driving data and/orto receive vehicle driving data from sensors 211 and 221, and then totransmit the vehicle driving data to the driving analysis server 250 andother external computing devices. Mobile computing devices 215 and 225may be, for example, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),or tablet computers of the drivers or passengers of vehicles 210 and220. Software applications executing on mobile devices 215 and 225 maybe configured to detect certain driving data independently and/or maycommunicate with vehicle sensors 211 and 221 to receive additionaldriving data. For example, mobile devices 215 and 225 equipped with GPSfunctionality may determine vehicle location, speed, direction and otherbasic driving data without needing to communicate with the vehiclesensors 211 or 221, or any vehicle system. In other examples, softwareon the mobile devices 215 and 225 may be configured to receive some orall of the driving data collected by vehicle sensors 211 and 221.

When mobile computing devices 215 and 225 within the vehicles 210 and220 are used to detect vehicle driving data and/or to receive vehicledriving data from vehicles 211 and 221, the mobile computing devices 215and 225 may store, analyze, and/or transmit the vehicle driving data toone or more other devices. For example, mobile computing devices 215 and225 may transmit vehicle driving data directly to one or more drivinganalysis servers 250, and thus may be used in conjunction with orinstead of telematics devices 213 and 223. Additionally, mobilecomputing devices 215 and 225 may be configured to perform the V2Vcommunications described above, by establishing connections andtransmitting/receiving vehicle driving data to and from other nearbyvehicles. Thus, mobile computing devices 215 and 225 may be used inconjunction with or instead of short-range communication systems 212 and222 in some embodiments. Moreover, the processing components of themobile computing devices 215 and 225 may be used to analyze vehicledriving data, determine driving behaviors, calculate driver scores, andperform other related functions. Therefore, in certain embodiments,mobile computing devices 215 and 225 may be used in conjunction with, orin place of, the driving analysis modules 214 and 224.

Vehicles 210 and 220 may include driving analysis modules 214 and 224,which may be separate computing devices or may be integrated into one ormore other components within the vehicles 210 and 220, such as theshort-range communication systems 212 and 222, telematics devices 213and 223, or the internal computing systems of vehicles 210 and 220. Insome embodiments, vehicle 220 is a target vehicle and does not include adriving analysis module 224. As discussed above, driving analysismodules 214 and 224 also may be implemented by computing devicesindependent from the vehicles 210 and 220, such as mobile computingdevices 215 and 225 of the drivers or passengers, or one or moreseparate computer systems 230 (e.g., a user's home or office computer).In any of these examples, the driving analysis modules 214 and 224 maycontain some or all of the hardware/software components as the computingdevice 101 depicted in FIG. 1. Further, in certain implementations, thefunctionality of the driving analysis modules, such as storing andanalyzing vehicle driving data, determining driving behaviors, andcalculating driving scores, may be performed in a central drivinganalysis server 250 rather than by individual vehicles 210 and 220. Insuch implementations, the vehicles 210 and 220 might only collect andtransmit vehicle driving data to a driving analysis server 250, and thusthe vehicle-based driving analysis modules 214 and 224 may be optional.

Driving analysis modules 214 and 224 may be implemented in hardwareand/or software configured to receive vehicle driving data from vehiclesensors 211 and 221, short-range communication systems 212 and 222,telematics devices 213 and 223, and/or other driving data sources. Afterreceiving the vehicle driving data, driving analysis modules 214 and 224may perform a set of functions to analyze the driving data, determinedriving behaviors, and calculate driver scores. For example, the drivinganalysis modules 214 and 224 may include one or more driving behavioranalysis/driver score calculation algorithms, which may be executed bysoftware running on generic or specialized hardware within the drivinganalysis modules. The driving analysis module 214 in a monitoringvehicle 210 may use the vehicle driving data received from thatvehicle's sensors 211, along with vehicle driving data for other nearbyvehicles received via the short-range communication system 212, todetermine driving behaviors and calculate driver scores applicable tothe monitoring vehicle 210 and the other nearby vehicles. Within thedriving analysis module 214, a driver score calculation function may usethe results of the driving analysis performed by the module 214 tocalculate/adjust driver scores for a driver of a vehicle 210 or othervehicles based on determined driving behaviors. Further descriptions andexamples of the algorithms, functions, and analyses that may be executedby the driving analysis modules 214 and 224 are described below inreference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The system 200 also may include a driving analysis server 250,containing some or all of the hardware/software components as thecomputing device 101 depicted in FIG. 1. The driving analysis server 250may include hardware, software, and network components to receivevehicle driving data from one or more vehicles 210 and 220, and otherdata sources. The driving analysis server 250 may include a driving dataand driver score database 252 and driving analysis module 251 torespectively store and analyze driving data received from vehicles andother data sources. The driving analysis server 250 may initiatecommunication with and/or retrieve driving data from vehicles 210 and220 wirelessly via telematics devices 213 and 223, mobile devices 215and 225, or by way of separate computing systems (e.g., computer 230)over one or more computer networks (e.g., the Internet). Additionally,the driving analysis server 250 may receive additional data relevant todriving behavior determinations and driver score calculations from othernon-vehicle data sources, such as external traffic databases containingtraffic data (e.g., amounts of traffic, average driving speed, trafficspeed distribution, and numbers and types of accidents, etc.) at varioustimes and locations, external weather databases containing weather data(e.g., rain, snow, sleet, and hail amounts, temperatures, wind, roadconditions, visibility, etc.) at various times and locations, and otherexternal data sources containing driving hazard data (e.g., roadhazards, traffic accidents, downed trees, power outages, roadconstruction zones, school zones, and natural disasters, etc.)

Data stored in the driving data and driver score database 252 may beorganized in any of several different manners. For example, a table indatabase 252 may contain all of the vehicle operation data for aspecific vehicle 210, similar to a vehicle event log. Other tables inthe database 252 may store certain types of data for multiple vehicles.For instance, tables may store specific driving behaviors andinteractions (e.g., accidents, tailgating, cutting-off, yielding,racing, defensive avoidances, etc.) for multiples vehicles. Vehicledriving data may also be organized by time and/or place, so that thedriving behaviors or interactions between multiples vehicles 210 and 220may be stored or grouped by time and location.

The driving analysis module 251 within the driving analysis server 250may be configured to retrieve data from the driving data and driverscore database 252, or may receive driving data directly from vehicles210 and 220 or other data sources, and may perform driving dataanalyses, driving behavior determinations, driver score calculations,and other related functions. The functions performed by the drivinganalysis module 251 may be similar to those of driving analysis modules214 and 224, and further descriptions and examples of the algorithms,functions, and analyses that may be executed by the driving analysismodule 251 are described below in reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In various examples, the driving data analyses, driving behaviordeterminations, and driving score calculations may be performed entirelyin the driving analysis module 251 of the driving analysis server 250(in which case driving analysis modules 214 and 224 need not beimplemented in vehicles 210 and 220), or may be performed entirely inthe vehicle-based driving analysis modules 214 and 224 (in which casethe driving analysis module 251 and/or the driving analysis server 250need not be implemented). In other examples, certain driving dataanalyses may be performed by vehicle-based driving analysis modules 214and 224, while other driving data analyses are performed by the drivinganalysis module 251 at the driving analysis server 250. For example, avehicle-based driving analysis module 214 may continuously receive andanalyze driving data from nearby vehicles to determine certain drivingbehaviors (e.g., tailgating, cutting-off, yielding, etc.) so that largeamounts of driving data need not be transmitted to the driving analysisserver 250. However, after a positive or negative driving behavior isdetermined by the vehicle-based driving analysis module 214, thebehavior may be transmitted to the server 250, and the driving analysismodule 251 may determine if a driver score should be updated based onthe determined driving behavior.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of performingdriving behavior determinations and driver scores calculations based onanalyses of vehicle driving data from vehicle-to-vehicle communications.This example method may be performed by one or more computing devices ina driving analysis system, such as vehicle-based driving analysismodules 214 and 224, a driving analysis module 251 of a driving analysisserver 250, user mobile computing devices 215 and 225, and/or othercomputer systems.

The steps shown in FIG. 3 describe performing an analysis to determinedriving behaviors of vehicles using V2V communications, and thencalculating or adjusting driver scores based on the determined drivingbehaviors. As described above in reference to FIG. 2, the vehicles 210and 220 may or may not be insurance provider customers and/or may or maynot be subscribers to the insurance provider's telematics program. Insome embodiments, the monitoring vehicle 210 is a customer of theinsurance provider and a subscriber to the insurance provider'stelematics program; while the target vehicle 220 is a customer of theinsurance provider who is not a subscriber to the insurance company'stelematics program. In other variations, the target vehicle is asubscriber to the insurance company's telematics program and/or not acustomer of the insurance provider. Driving behaviors may include anynumber of identifiable “social interactions” between two or morevehicles on the road, including negative behaviors such as tailgating,cutting-off, brake-checking, preventing another vehicle from merging,and racing, or positive behaviors such as yielding, defensive avoidance,or allowing another vehicle to merge. Occurrences of negative drivingbehaviors may indicate a high-risk or unsafe driver, while occurrencesof positive driving behaviors may indicate a low-risk or safe driver. Insome cases, a monitoring vehicle 210 might not be actively involved in adriving behavior, but may be involved only as an object of anothervehicle's 220 driving behavior (e.g., a vehicle 210 being tailgated byanother vehicle 220, or a vehicle 210 allowed to merge by anothervehicle 220), in which case the determination of the driving behaviormay be neither positive nor negative with respect to vehicle 210.

In step 301, vehicle driving data may be received for a monitoringvehicle 210, corresponding to data from the vehicle's sensors 211. Asdescribed above in reference to FIG. 2, a driving analysis module 214within vehicle 210 may receive and store vehicle driving data from thevehicle's internal computer systems and any combination of the vehicle'ssensors 211. The data received in step 301 may include, for example, thelocation, speed, and direction of the vehicle 210, object proximity datafrom the vehicle's external cameras and proximity sensors, and data fromthe vehicle's various systems used to determine if the vehicle 210 isbraking, accelerated, or turning, etc., and to determine the status ofthe vehicle's user-operated controls (e.g., head lights, turn signals,hazard lights, radio, phone, etc.), along with any other data collectedby vehicle sensors 211.

In step 302, vehicle driving data may be received for at least onetarget vehicle 220, corresponding to data transmitted via V2Vcommunications. As described above, vehicle driving data may betransmitted from the at least one target vehicle 220 to the monitoringvehicle 210 using short-range communications systems 212 and 222, usermobile devices 215 and 225, or other wireless transmission techniques.In certain examples, DSRC protocols and standards may be used, in whichvehicle 220 may periodically broadcast a set of vehicle driving data toany vehicles or other receiving devices within its broadcast range. Insome examples, driving data transmitted by vehicle 220 using V2Vcommunication may include basic vehicle location, speed, and trajectorydata, such as the GPS coordinates, speed and direction of travel, rateof acceleration or deceleration, and rates of turning data of thevehicle 210. However, the V2V communications may include additional datain various other examples, and may potentially include any or all of thedata collected from the vehicle's sensors 221. Additionally, after twovehicles 210 and 220 have established a communication link viashort-range communication systems 212 and 222, the vehicles may transmittheir bearings (or relative direction) vis-à-vis the other vehicle inV2V communications. In other examples, the monitoring vehicle 210 maydetermine the bearing of at least one nearby target vehicle 220 bystoring and analyzing multiple V2V transmissions from the vehicle 220over a period of time.

In step 303, the vehicle driving data received in steps 301 and 302 maybe analyzed, and driving behaviors may be determined for the vehicles210 and 220 based on the driving data. For example, a driving analysismodule 214 in a monitoring vehicle 210 may compare the driving data(e.g., location, speed, direction) from its own vehicle sensors 211(received in step 301) with the corresponding driving data (e.g.,location, speed, direction, etc.) from a nearby vehicle 220 (received instep 302). Based on the relative locations, speeds, and directions oftravel of vehicles 210 and 220, the driving analysis module 214 maydetermine a driving behavior involving the two vehicles.

FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate examples of different “social interactions”between two vehicles that may characterize different driving behaviorsin step 303. In FIG. 4A, an example of tailgating is shown in whichvehicle 520 (e.g., a non-subscriber and/or non-customer target vehicle)is tailgating vehicle 510 (e.g., a subscriber and/or customer monitoringvehicle). A driving analysis module 214, 224 in either vehicle 510 or520 may detect tailgating in step 303 by comparing the relativepositions, speeds, and distances between the two vehicles over a periodof time. One or more driving behavior algorithms executed by a drivinganalysis module 214, 224 may define tailgating in terms of vehicle speedand following distance. For example, a tailgating algorithm maydetermine that a vehicle is tailgating (T) if its following distance infeet (D), is less than its velocity in miles-per-hour (V) times atailgating factor, such as: [If D<V, then T], [If D>V*1.1, then T], [IfD<V*1.5, then T], or [If D<V*2, then T], etc. The amount of time that avehicle is tailgating may also factor into a determination of atailgating behavior. For example, if the driving analysis module 214,224 determines that a vehicle's tailgating exceeds a time threshold,which may be consecutive number of seconds tailgating (e.g., 5 seconds,10 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 60 seconds, etc.), a percentage ofdriving time tailgating (e.g., 10%, 20%, 50%, 60%, 75%, etc.), or atotal amount of tailgating time in an hour, day, or driving trip (e.g.,1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.), then thedriving analysis module 214, 224 may determine that the target vehicle(e.g., the vehicle of the non-subscriber and/or non-customer) hasengaged in a tailgating driving behavior.

In FIG. 4B, an example of defensive avoidance is shown, in which vehicle510 changes lanes to avoid being tailgated by vehicle 520. A drivinganalysis module 214, 224 in either vehicle 510 or 520 may detectdefensive avoidance by vehicle 510 in step 303, by executing one or morealgorithms that define a defensive avoidance driving behavior. Forexample, if a vehicle is being tailgated (as defined by one or moretailgating algorithms) for at least a minimum time threshold (e.g., 1second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 60 seconds,etc.), and then the vehicle being tailgated safely changes lanes toeliminate the tailgating situation, then the driving analysis module214, 224 may determine that the vehicle has engaged in a defensiveavoidance driving behavior. Determinations of defensive avoidance bydriving analysis modules 214, 224 also may take into account trafficdensity. For example, when a current traffic density is greater than apredetermined density threshold, the amount of time that vehicle 510 isgiven to change lanes in order to count as a defensive avoidance drivingbehavior may be increased.

In FIG. 4C, an example is shown in which vehicle 520 has cut-off vehicle510, by changing lanes closely in front of vehicle 510. A drivinganalysis module 214, 224 may detect cutting-off in step 303 by comparingthe relative positions and distances between the two vehicles over aperiod of time. For example, one or more driving behavior algorithms maydefine cutting-off as occurrence of a lane change immediately afterwhich the following vehicle is in a tailgating position (as defined byone or more tailgating algorithms). For instance, under the tailgatingalgorithm [If D>V, then T], if vehicle 520 changes lanes in front ofvehicle 510 when both cars are traveling 60 MPH, and the distancebetween the two vehicles immediately after the lane change is less than60 feet, then the driving analysis module 214, 224 may determine thatvehicle 520 has cut-off vehicle 510. In certain implementations, thefollowing vehicle 510 may be provided a tailgating grace period (e.g., 5seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds,etc.) after being cut-off, to allow it increase its following distance,before it can be assessed (or begin to be assessed) with a tailgatingdriving behavior.

In FIG. 4D, an example of yielding is shown in which vehicle 510 yieldsto vehicle 520, allowing vehicle 520 to merge into the lane of vehicle510. As with tailgating and cutting-off, a driving analysis module 214,224 may determine yielding in step 303 by comparing the relativepositions, speeds, and distances between the two vehicles over a periodof time. For example, if vehicle 520 expresses an intention to changeinto the same lane as vehicle 510, and vehicle 510 maintains or reducesspeed to safely allow the lane change, then driving analysis module 214,224 may determine that vehicle 510 has performed a yielding drivingbehavior. Expressions of intention to change lanes may be determined by,for example, based on speed matching by a vehicle 520 in an adjacentlane, turn signal usage of a vehicle 520 in an adjacent lane (using turnsignal data and other vehicle control data transmitted in V2Vcommunications), the ending of an upcoming lane in traffic (using laneending determinations by vehicle sensors, GPS and navigation data, orother techniques). After a driving analysis module 214, 224 identifiesan intention of a nearby vehicle to change lanes, if the vehicle 510slows down or maintains its speed, so that its following distance isincreased to exceed a yielding distance threshold (e.g., V*1.5, V*2,etc.), or so that after the lane change is completed then vehicle 520will not be in a tailgating position, then the vehicle 510 may beattributed with a positive yielding driving behavior. To the contrary,if vehicle 510 speeds up or decreases its current following distance toprevent the lane change, then vehicle 510 may be attributed with anegative driving behavior for preventing the merging of vehicle 520.

In FIG. 4E, an example is shown of racing by vehicles 510 and 520. As inthe examples above, a driving analysis module 214, 224 may detect racingin step 303 by comparing the relative positions, speeds, and distancesbetween the two vehicles 510 and 520 over a period of time, as well asdata from other vehicles 530 and 540, and other data sources. Forexample, one or more driving behavior algorithms may define racing as anoccurrence of two or more vehicles 510 and 520 in close proximity to oneanother (for example, using a proximity threshold, e.g., 100 feet, 0.25miles, 0.5 miles, 1 mile, etc.), over a period of time (e.g., 30seconds, 1 minute, etc.), and when the vehicles 510 and 520 are movingfaster than the other traffic on the same road by more than a racingspeed threshold (e.g., 25% faster, 50% faster, etc.).

In addition to the driving behaviors described above, and the variousexamples of algorithms and thresholds used to determine occurrences ofthese driving behaviors, it should be understood that other types ofdriving behaviors may be detected using V2V communications, and thatvarious other driving behavior determination algorithms and differentthreshold values may be used as well. For example, other types ofdriving behaviors that may be detected using V2V communications includehard turning, U-turns, braking, time of day a vehicle is being driven,speeding (i.e. how fast a vehicle is going and how often a vehicle isspeeding), annual mileage (this may be determined based on how often avehicle is spotted by fleet vehicles and the locations in which thevehicle is spotted by fleet vehicles). Additionally, the drivingbehaviors described above, or other driving behaviors determined in step303 may use multiple algorithms and/or thresholds to determine degreesof magnitude for a driving behavior. For example, when determiningnegative driving behaviors such as tailgating, cutting-off, and racing,a driving analysis module 214, 224 may use different thresholds todetermine different levels of severity of the negative behavior. Forinstance, tailgating under the definition of [If D<V*1.5, then T] forbetween 5-10 seconds may be considered a minor tailgating behavior,whereas tailgating under the definition of [If D<V*0.7, then T] for morethan a minute consecutively may be considered a severe tailgatingbehavior, and so on. The driving behaviors determined for the targetvehicle may be tagged with information identifying the target vehicle.The tagged driving vehicle behavior data may be stored in driving dataand driver score database 252.

In step 304, one or more driver scores may be calculated based on thedriving behaviors determined in step 303. As discussed above, driverscores and/or grades may correspond to ratings by insurance companies,financial institutions, or other organizations of the driving abilities,safe/unsafe driving habits, and other information for a driver or arelated group of drivers (e.g., family, roommates, co-workers, or othergroup of drivers associated with the same vehicle or vehicles). Driverscores and/or grades may be used to help obtain vehicle financing anddetermine insurance, rates, coverage, and discounts. A driver scoreand/or grade for a non-customer and/or non-subscriber may be calculated,for instance, based on the data from the monitoring vehicle/driver andthat grade and/or score may be used to make an offer for insurance tothe non-customer and/or non-subscriber. A driver score may be based ondriver grades. For instance, monitoring vehicle drivers may grade thetarget vehicle or target vehicle driver. These grades may be aggregatedto determine the driver score of the target vehicle. If a drivinganalysis module 214, 224 determines a “negative” (e.g., unsafe or risky)driving behavior for a driver of vehicle 220 in step 303, then thedriving analysis module 214, 224 may negatively adjust the driver'sdriver score and/or grade in step 304. Similarly, if the drivinganalysis module 214, 224 determines a “positive” or safe drivingbehavior in step 303, then the driving analysis module 214, 224 maypositively adjust the driver score and/or grade in step 304. Whencalculating or adjusting a driver score and/or grade based on determineddriving behaviors, behaviors of greater magnitude (e.g., severetailgating or racing) may be weighed more heavily than less severebehaviors (e.g., minor tailgating or failure to yield to allow a lanechange in traffic). Additionally, minor driving behaviors might notcause any adjustments in driver scores, and some positive and negativebehaviors may cancel out so that the driver score might not be adjusted.In some cases, all occurrences of all determined positive and negativedriving behaviors may be accumulated and stored over a period of time,such a week, month, year, or for an insurance term, and the accumulatedset of driving behaviors may be used to calculate insurance rateadjustments or discounts, along with other factors such as accidents,vehicle maintenance, and driving record. When a specific driver of avehicle 220 is known, the driving analysis module 214, 224 may calculateor update a driver score for that specific driver. Otherwise, thedriving analysis module 214, 224 may calculate or update a driver scorecorresponding to the vehicle 220 and/or multiple driver scores fordifferent drivers of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 3, a single vehicle-based driving analysis module 214may receive driving data for a monitoring vehicle 210 (step 301), mayreceive V2V communications including driving data for one or more othervehicles (e.g., target vehicle(s)) (step 302), may determine drivingbehaviors (step 303), and may calculate or update driver scores (step304) for the monitoring vehicle 210. However, other driving analysismodules and/or other computing devices may be used to execute some orall of the steps and functionality described above in reference to FIG.3. For example, any of steps 301-304 may be performed by a user's mobiledevice 215 or 225 within the vehicles 210 or 220. These mobile devices215 or 225, or another computing device 230, may execute softwareconfigured to perform similar functionality in place of the drivinganalysis modules 214 and 224. Additionally, some or all of the drivinganalysis functionality described in reference to FIG. 3 may be performedby a driving analysis module 251 at a non-vehicle based driving analysisserver 250. For example, vehicles 210 and 220 may be configured totransmit their own vehicle sensor data, and/or the V2V communicationsdata received from other nearby vehicles, to a central driving analysisserver 250 via telematics devices 213 and 223. In this example, thedriving analysis module 251 of the server 250 may perform the dataanalysis, determinations of driving behaviors, and driver score and/orgrade calculations for any vehicles 210 and 220 for which it receivesdriving data. In certain embodiments, vehicle 220 is a non-subscriberand/or non-customer and only vehicle 210 (e.g., the monitoring vehicle)contains a telematics device 213 and/or driving analysis module 214(and/or other computing device, such as a mobile device or the like).

In some examples, certain functionality may be performed invehicle-based driving analysis modules 214 and/or 224, while otherfunctionality may be performed by the driving analysis module 251 at thedriving analysis server 250. For instance, vehicle-based drivinganalysis modules 214 and 224 may continuously receive and analyzedriving data for their own vehicles 210 and 220 and nearby vehicles (viaV2V communications), and may determine driving behaviors (e.g.,tailgating, cutting-off, yielding, racing, etc.) for their own vehicles210 and 220 and/or the other nearby vehicles. In certain embodiments,vehicle 220 is a non-subscriber and/or non-customer and only vehicle 210(e.g., the monitoring vehicle) includes a vehicle-based driving analysismodule 214 which may continuously receive and analyze driving data forits own vehicle 210 and nearby vehicles (via V2V communications), andmay determine driving behaviors (e.g., tailgating, cutting-off,yielding, racing, etc.) for its own vehicle 210 and/or the other nearbyvehicles. After the vehicle-based driving analysis modules 214 and/or224 have determined the driving behaviors, indications of thesebehaviors may be transmitted to the server 250 so that the drivinganalysis module 251 can perform the driver score calculations andupdates based on the driving behaviors. For instance, vehicles 210 and220 both may detect a negative driving behavior for a third vehicle, andmay report the negative behavior for the third vehicle to the drivinganalysis server 250, which may access other vehicle and driverinformation for the third vehicle and may potentially adjust a driverscore for the third vehicle based on the driving behaviors reported byvehicles 210 and 220. Additionally, in some examples, a monitoringvehicle 210 (or V2V receiving infrastructure device, such a roadsidereceiver at a tollbooth or traffic monitor) may receive V2Vcommunications from multiple other vehicles and determine drivingbehaviors for those other vehicles, even when the monitoring vehicle 210(or other receiving device) is not directly involved in the drivingbehavior. In such cases, indications of the determined driving behaviorsmay be transmitted to the vehicles involved and/or to an external system(e.g., driving analysis server 250) for the calculation andimplementation of driver scores for the vehicles involved. Additionally,in some embodiments, any analysis that might be performed at the drivinganalysis server 250 may be performed instead within the vehicles, forexample, in driving analysis modules 214 and/or 224. For instance, amonitoring vehicle may analyze the driving behaviors of at least onetarget vehicle and transmit the determined driving behavior data to theat least one target vehicle and/or additional vehicles (e.g., othermonitoring vehicles). Thus, the driving analysis server 250 may beoptional in certain embodiments, and some or all of the driving analysesmay be performed within the vehicles themselves.

V2V communication may be used to analyze driving interactions anddriving behaviors between two vehicles (e.g., vehicles 210 and 220), asdiscussed above. In other examples, similar techniques may be used toanalyze driving interactions and driving behaviors between three or morevehicles. For instance, racing between three or more vehicles may bedetected using similar techniques of V2V communication between each ofthe vehicles. Additional complex driving interactions may be detectedusing V2V communications between three or more vehicles. For example, avehicle in a one lane may drift or change into a second lane, which maycause a vehicle in the second lane to swerve or change lanes into athird lane, etc. These behaviors may be detected and used to identifywhen certain behaviors (e.g., cutting off, swerving, tailgating) are andare not occurring. Other complex traffic interactions also may bedetected and analyzed using V2V communications among groups of vehicle,for example, analyzing the driving behaviors of many drivers at a busyintersection, or in response to a lane starting or ending on a busystreet or highway, or other complex traffic interactions.

In some examples, driving interactions may be detected, and drivingbehaviors may be determined, regarding how drivers respond to nearbyaggressive drivers, nearby passive drivers, nearby save drivers, nearbydistracted drivers, and the like. For instance, an aggressive driver ordistracted driver may cause other drivers nearby to act overlyaggressive in response, while a passive and courteous driver may causeother nearby drivers to drive safely in response. Such responses may bedetected using V2V communications, and driving analyses/driver scorecalculations may be based on such responses.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method of performingdriving behavior determinations and driver grade/score calculationsbased on analyses of vehicle driving data from vehicle-to-vehiclecommunications. This example method may be performed by one or morecomputing devices in a driving analysis system, such as vehicle-baseddriving analysis modules 214 and/or 224, a driving analysis module 251of a driving analysis server 250, user mobile computing devices 215and/or 225, and/or other computer systems.

The steps shown in FIG. 5 describe performing an automatic analysis todetermine driving behaviors of vehicles using V2V communications, andthen calculating or adjusting driver grades/scores based on thedetermined driving behaviors. As described above in reference to FIG. 2,the vehicles 210 and 220 may or may not be insurance provider customersand/or may or may not be subscribers to the insurance provider'stelematics program. In some embodiments, the monitoring vehicle 210 is acustomer of the insurance provider and a subscriber to the insuranceprovider's telematics program; while the target vehicle 220 is not asubscriber to the insurance provider's telematics program. In one ormore embodiments, the target vehicle 220 is a customer of the insuranceprovider. In other variations, the target vehicle is not a customer ofthe insurance provider. Driving behaviors may include any number ofidentifiable “social interactions” between two or more vehicles on theroad, including negative behaviors such as tailgating, cutting-off,brake-checking, preventing another vehicle from merging, and racing, orpositive behaviors such as yielding, defensive avoidance, or allowinganother vehicle to merge. Occurrences of negative driving behaviors mayindicate a high-risk or unsafe driver, while occurrences of positivedriving behaviors may indicate a low-risk or safe driver. In some cases,a monitoring vehicle 210 might not be actively involved in a drivingbehavior, but may be involved only as an object of another vehicle's 220driving behavior (e.g., a vehicle 210 being tailgated by another vehicle220, or a vehicle 210 allowed to merge by another vehicle 220), in whichcase the determination of the driving behavior may be neither positivenor negative with respect to vehicle 210.

In step 501, vehicle driving data may be received for a target vehicle220, corresponding to data from the target vehicle's sensors 221. Asdescribed above in reference to FIG. 2, a driving analysis module 224within vehicle 220 may receive and store vehicle driving data from thevehicle's internal computer systems and any combination of the vehicle'ssensors 221. The data received in step 501 may include, for example, thelocation, speed, and direction of the vehicle 220, object proximity datafrom the vehicle's external cameras and proximity sensors, and data fromthe vehicle's various systems used to determine if the vehicle 220 isbraking, accelerated, or turning, etc., and to determine the status ofthe vehicle's user-operated controls (e.g., head lights, turn signals,hazard lights, radio, phone, etc.), along with any other data collectedby vehicle sensors 221.

Alternatively or additionally, in step 501, vehicle driving data may bereceived for a target vehicle 220, corresponding to data from themonitoring vehicle's 210 sensors 211. As described above in reference toFIG. 2, a driving analysis module 214 within monitoring vehicle 210 mayreceive and store vehicle driving data from the vehicle's internalcomputer systems and any combination of the vehicle's sensors 211. Thedata received in step 501 may include, for example, the location, speed,and direction of the target vehicle 220, object proximity data from themonitoring vehicle's external cameras and proximity sensors, and datafrom the monitoring vehicle's various systems used to determine if thetarget vehicle 220 is braking, accelerated, or turning, etc., and todetermine the status of the target vehicle's user-operated controls(e.g., head lights, turn signals, hazard lights, radio, phone, etc.),along with any other data collected by the monitoring vehicle sensors211.

Alternatively or additionally, in step 501, vehicle driving data may bereceived for at least one target vehicle 220, corresponding to datatransmitted via V2V communications. As described above, vehicle drivingdata may be transmitted from the at least one target vehicle 220 to themonitoring vehicle 210 using short-range communications systems 212 and222, user mobile devices 215 and 225, or other wireless transmissiontechniques. In certain examples, DSRC protocols and standards may beused, in which vehicle 220 may periodically broadcast a set of vehicledriving data to any vehicles or other receiving devices within itsbroadcast range. In some examples, driving data transmitted by vehicle220 using V2V communication may include basic vehicle location, speed,and trajectory data, such as the GPS coordinates, speed and direction oftravel, rate of acceleration or deceleration, and rates of turning dataof the vehicle 210. However, the V2V communications may includeadditional data in various other examples, and may potentially includeany or all of the data collected from the vehicle's sensors 221.Additionally, after two vehicles 210 and 220 have established acommunication link via short-range communication systems 212 and 222,the vehicles may transmit their bearings (or relative direction)vis-à-vis the other vehicle in V2V communications. In other examples,the monitoring vehicle 210 may determine the bearing of at least onenearby target vehicle 220 by storing and analyzing multiple V2Vtransmissions from the vehicle 220 over a period of time.

In step 502, the vehicle driving data received in step 301 may byanalyzed to identify the target vehicle 220 and/or driver of the targetvehicle. As discussed above with regard to FIG. 2, telematics devices213 and 223 also may be configured to detect or determine additionaltypes of data relating to real-time driving and the condition of thevehicles 210 and 220. In certain embodiments, the telematics devices 213and 223 may contain or may be integral with one or more of the vehiclesensors 211 and 221. The telematics devices 213 and 223 also may storethe type of their respective vehicles 210 and 220, for example, themake, model, trim (or sub-model), year, and/or engine specifications, aswell as other information such as vehicle owner or driver information,insurance information, and financing information for the vehicles 210and 220.

In step 503, the vehicle driving data received in step 501 may beanalyzed, and current driving behaviors may be determined for the targetvehicle 220 based on the driving data. For example, a driving analysismodule 214 in a monitoring vehicle 210 may compare the driving data(e.g., location, speed, direction) from its own vehicle sensors 211 withthe corresponding driving data (e.g., location, speed, direction, etc.)from a nearby target vehicle 220 (received in step 501). Based on therelative locations, speeds, and directions of travel of vehicles 210 and220, the driving analysis module 214 may determine a current drivingbehavior involving the two vehicles.

In step 504, historical driving behaviors for the target vehicleidentified in step 502 may be retrieved. As discussed above in referenceto FIG. 3, driving behaviors that are determined for a target vehiclemay be tagged with information identifying the target vehicle. Thetagged driving behaviors may then be stored in driving data and driverscore database 252. Therefore, driving data and driver score database252 may aggregate multiple sets of tagged driving behavior for a targetvehicle. The source (i.e. monitoring vehicle) of each set of drivingbehavior may be different. At step 504, all sets of driving behaviorthat are tagged with information identifying the target vehicleidentified in step 502 may be retrieved.

In step 505, a driver score for the target vehicle may be calculatedbased on the current driving behaviors determined in step 503 and thehistorical driving behaviors retrieved in step 504. As discussed above,driver scores and/or grades may correspond to ratings by insurancecompanies, financial institutions, or other organizations of the drivingabilities, safe/unsafe driving habits, and other information for adriver or a related group of drivers (e.g., family, roommates,co-workers, or other group of drivers associated with the same vehicleor vehicles). Driver scores and/or grades may be used to help obtainvehicle financing and determine insurance, rates, coverage, anddiscounts. A driver score and/or grade for a non-customer and/ornon-subscriber may be calculated, for instance, based on the data fromthe monitoring vehicle/driver and that grade and/or score may be used tomake an offer for insurance to the non-customer and/or non-subscriber. Adriver score may be based on driver grades. For instance, monitoringvehicle drivers may grade the target vehicle or target vehicle driver.These grades may be aggregated to determine the driver score of thetarget vehicle. If a driving analysis module 214, 224 determines a“negative” (e.g., unsafe or risky) current driving behavior for a driverof the target vehicle in step 503, then the driving analysis module 214,224 may negatively adjust the driver's driver score and/or grade in step505. Similarly, if the driving analysis module 214, 224 determines a“positive” or safe current driving behavior in step 503, then thedriving analysis module 214, 224 may positively adjust the driver scoreand/or grade in step 505. The driving analysis module 214 may furtheradjust the driving score for the target vehicle based on historicaldriving behaviors retrieved for the target vehicle. For example, if the“negative” current driving behavior for the target vehicle is alsoincluded in the historical driving behavior for the target vehicle, thedriving analysis module 214, 224 may negatively adjust the driver'sdriver score and/or grade in step 505. Similarly, if the “positive”current driving behavior for the target vehicle is also included in thehistorical driving behavior for the target vehicle, the driving analysismodule 214, 224 may positively adjust the driver's driver score and/orgrade in step 505. Therefore, not only will a target vehicle bepenalized for current negative driving behavior, but if the targetvehicle has a history of the same negative driving behavior, the targetvehicle will be penalized again. Similarly, not only will a targetvehicle be rewarded for current positive driving behavior, but if thetarget vehicle has a history of the same positive driving behavior, thetarget vehicle will be rewarded again. When calculating or adjusting adriver score and/or grade based on determined current driving behaviorsand/or retrieved historical driving behaviors, behaviors of greatermagnitude (e.g., severe tailgating or racing) may be weighed moreheavily than less severe behaviors (e.g., minor tailgating or failure toyield to allow a lane change in traffic). Additionally, minor drivingbehaviors might not cause any adjustments in driver scores, and somepositive and negative behaviors may cancel out so that the driver scoremight not be adjusted. In some cases, all occurrences of all determinedpositive and negative driving behaviors may be accumulated and storedover a period of time, such a week, month, year, or for an insuranceterm, and the accumulated set of driving behaviors may be used tocalculate insurance rate adjustments or discounts, along with otherfactors such as accidents, vehicle maintenance, and driving record. Whena specific driver of a vehicle 220 is known, the driving analysis module214, 224 may calculate or update a driver score for that specificdriver. Otherwise, the driving analysis module 214, 224 may calculate orupdate a driver score corresponding to the vehicle 220 and/or multipledriver scores for different drivers of the vehicle.

In one or more embodiments, a user of the driving analysis computingdevice (e.g., a mobile device running a V2V telematics application) mayinput information regarding other vehicles and drivers of thosevehicles. The steps shown in FIG. 6 describe performing an analysis todetermine driving behaviors of vehicles using manual user input, andthen calculating or adjusting driver grades/scores based on thedetermined driving behaviors. As described above in reference to FIG. 2,the vehicles 210 and 220 may or may not be insurance provider customersand/or may or may not be subscribers to the insurance provider'stelematics program. In some embodiments, the monitoring vehicle 210 is acustomer of the insurance provider and a subscriber to the insuranceprovider's telematics program; while the target vehicle 220 is not asubscriber to the insurance provider's telematics program. In one ormore embodiments, the target vehicle 220 is a customer of the insuranceprovider. In other variations, the target vehicle is not a customer ofthe insurance provider. Driving behaviors may include any number ofidentifiable “social interactions” between two or more vehicles on theroad, including negative behaviors such as tailgating, cutting-off,brake-checking, preventing another vehicle from merging, and racing, orpositive behaviors such as yielding, defensive avoidance, or allowinganother vehicle to merge. Occurrences of negative driving behaviors mayindicate a high-risk or unsafe driver, while occurrences of positivedriving behaviors may indicate a low-risk or safe driver. In some cases,a monitoring vehicle 210 might not be actively involved in a drivingbehavior, but may be involved only as an object of another vehicle's 220driving behavior (e.g., a vehicle 210 being tailgated by another vehicle220, or a vehicle 210 allowed to merge by another vehicle 220), in whichcase the determination of the driving behavior may be neither positivenor negative with respect to vehicle 210.

In step 601 of FIG. 6, a third-party user of the driving analysiscomputing device witnesses a particular behavior of the targetdriver/vehicle (e.g., the driver of the other vehicle is drivingerratically, eating, shaving, talking on a telephone, texting, using amobile device, applying cosmetics, etc.). In step 602, the third-partyuser of the driving analysis computing device, without any prompt fromthe driving analysis computing device, may manually input, via agraphical user interface, information regarding a target vehicle 220 orthe driver of the target vehicle (e.g., the identity of the othervehicle or the driver of the other vehicle, one or more behaviors of thedriver of the target vehicle (e.g., the driver of the other vehicle iseating, shaving, talking on a telephone, texting, using a mobile device,applying cosmetics, etc.), etc.). The driving analysis computing devicemay generate and display one or more driver behavior screens whichdepict one or more negative driving behaviors (vehicle hard braking,speeding, acceleration, sharp turns, eating, shaving, talking on atelephone, texting, using a mobile device, applying cosmetics, etc.).The information regarding the other vehicle(s) or driver of the othervehicle(s) may be input orally or by tapping on a portion of the driverbehavior screen(s) corresponding to one or more negative drivingbehaviors of the driver of the other vehicle.

In step 603, the third-party user of the driving analysis computingdevice may calculate and input a driver score/grade for the targetvehicle. When a user calculates driver scores for other vehicles, thesescores may be less complete and/or less accurate than when the drivinganalysis computing device calculates driver scores for its own vehicle,or when a driving analysis computing module at an external servercalculates driver scores for its associated vehicles. For instance, auser attempting to calculate a driver score for another vehicle/driveron the same road may have only a small amount of data and a few limitedinteractions on which to base this driver score. Therefore, the driverscores calculated for nearby target vehicles may be classified using arelatively simple driving scale (e.g., binary, numerical, letter, etc.).If a nearby vehicle is speeding, weaving, tailgating, racing, orengaging in other negative driving behaviors, then the vehicle may beassigned a low driver score (e.g., “Bad Driver,” 1 out of 5, “F,” etc.).In contrast, if another nearby vehicle is obeying the speed limit andtraffic laws, following at a safe distance, yielding, practicingdefensive avoidance, and engaging in other positive driving behaviors,then the vehicle may be assigned a high driver score (e.g., “GoodDriver,” 5 out of 5, “A,” etc.). In certain instances, monitoringvehicle data may be aggregated over a predetermined period of time inorder to obtain more data and/or more accurate data. Monitoring vehicledata for a particular target vehicle from multiple monitoring vehicles(either at the same time or over a predetermined time period) may alsobe aggregated in order to obtain more data and/or more accurate data.For instance, monitoring data from a plurality of monitoring vehiclesnearby a target vehicle may be aggregated to determine a driver gradeand/or score for a particular target vehicle. In other instances, eachmonitoring vehicle may grade a particular target vehicle and thosegrades could be used (either at the same time or over a predeterminedtime period) to determine a driver score for the target vehicle.

In some examples, in step 604, additional information may be used tocalculate/adjust driver scores for target vehicles in order to increasethe accuracy of the driver scores. For example, the driving analysiscomputing device may receive additional vehicle identifying information(e.g., region 901 of FIGS. 8 and 9) for other nearby vehicles viaadditional third-party user input or over the V2V communication link(e.g., the other vehicle's make, model, year, VIN, insuranceinformation, driver information, license plate, and/or ownerinformation). The driving analysis computing device may use thisadditional information to perform a more accurate driver scorecalculation, or may transmit this information to the driving analysisserver, which may perform the driver score calculations for the othervehicles after accessing driving records, insurance records, and anyother available information regarding the other vehicles or drivers.

The steps shown in FIG. 7 describe performing an analysis to determinedriving behaviors of vehicles using manual user input and V2Vcommunications, and then calculating or adjusting driver grades/scoresbased on the determined driving behaviors. In step 701, using V2Vcommunications, nearby target vehicles transmit vehicle driving data(e.g., telematics data, the identity of the other vehicle or the driverof the other vehicle, etc.) to the driving analysis computing device.For instance, while a vehicle including the driving analysis computingdevice is being driven, its short-range communication system may be usedto initiate communication links and receive vehicle driving data via V2Vcommunications from other vehicles near the vehicle. As discussed above,DSRC protocols and standards may be used for V2V communications in somesystems, while other various V2V communication hardware, techniques, andprotocols may be used in other systems.

Upon receiving the vehicle driving data from at least one target vehicleover V2V communications, the driving analysis computing device, in step702, may prompt the user to manually input, via a graphical userinterface, information regarding the target vehicle(s) or driver of thetarget vehicle(s) (e.g., the identity of the target vehicle or thedriver of the target vehicle, one or more behaviors of the driver of thetarget vehicle (e.g., the driver of the target vehicle is eating,shaving, talking on a telephone, texting, using a mobile device,applying cosmetics, etc.), etc.). In certain instances, such prompt mayinclude the driving analysis computing device displaying the datatransmitted by the target vehicle (or a summary thereof) to the user viathe graphical user interface. For example, the driving analysiscomputing device may display a screen indicating that the target vehicleis involved in a particular behavior (e.g., region 902 of FIGS. 8 and 9)(e.g., speeding, hard breaking, swerving, etc.). One example of suchscreen is illustrated in FIG. 8. In certain embodiments, such prompt mayinclude the driving analysis computing device generating and displaying,via a graphical user interface, one or more driver behavior screenswhich depict one or more negative driving behaviors (vehicle hardbraking, speeding, acceleration, sharp turns, eating, shaving, talkingon a telephone, texting, using a mobile device, applying cosmetics,etc.). One example of such screen is illustrated in FIG. 9.

In step 703, the third-party user inputs information regarding thetarget vehicle or driver of the target vehicle. The information may beinput orally or by tapping on the prompt screen. Where the prompt ofstep 702 includes the driving analysis computing device displaying thedata transmitted by the target vehicle (or a summary thereof) to theuser via the graphical user interface (e.g., using a statement orgraphic indicative of a particular behavior), the user input may includea confirmation or denial (e.g., tapping YES 903 or NO 904 on the screenof FIG. 8). Where the prompt of step 702 includes the driving analysiscomputing device displaying one or more driver behavior screens whichdepict one or more negative driving behaviors, the user input mayinclude tapping on a portion of the driver behavior screen(s)corresponding to one or more negative driving behaviors of the driver ofthe other vehicle.

In step 704, the third-party user of the driving analysis computingdevice may calculate and input a driver score/grade for the targetvehicle. As discussed above, when a user calculates driver scores forother vehicles, these scores may be less complete and/or less accuratethan when the driving analysis computing device calculates driver scoresfor its own vehicle, or when a driving analysis computing module at anexternal server calculates driver scores for its associated vehicles.For instance, a user attempting to calculate a driver score for anothervehicle/driver on the same road may have only a small amount of data anda few limited interactions on which to base this driver score.Therefore, the driver scores calculated for nearby target vehicles maybe classified using a relatively simple driving scale (e.g., binary,numerical, letter, etc.). If a nearby vehicle is speeding, weaving,tailgating, racing, or engaging in other negative driving behaviors,then the vehicle may be assigned a low driver score (e.g., “Bad Driver,”1 out of 5, “F,” etc.). In contrast, if another nearby vehicle isobeying the speed limit and traffic laws, following at a safe distance,yielding, practicing defensive avoidance, and engaging in other positivedriving behaviors, then the vehicle may be assigned a high driver score(e.g., “Good Driver,” 5 out of 5, “A,” etc.).

In some examples, additional information may be used to calculate/adjustdriver scores for target vehicles in order to increase the accuracy ofthe driver scores. For example, the driving analysis computing devicemay receive additional vehicle identifying information 901 for othernearby vehicles via additional third-party user input or over the V2Vcommunication link (e.g., the other vehicle's make, model, year, VIN,insurance information, driver information, license plate, and/or ownerinformation). The driving analysis computing device may use thisadditional information to perform a more accurate driver scorecalculation, or may transmit this information to the driving analysisserver, which may perform the driver score calculations for the othervehicles after accessing driving records, insurance records, and anyother available information regarding the other vehicles or drivers.

The following are some example implementations of the systems andarrangements described herein. They are intended to be just some exampleimplementations and are not intended to limit the systems describedherein to only the examples provided.

In one example, Driver A is a customer of an insurance provider and asubscriber to the insurance provider's telematics program. Driver A isdriving near Driver B, who is not a customer of the insurance providerand not a subscriber to the insurance provider's telematics program.Noting the posted speed limit and noticing that Driver B is driving muchfaster than such speed limit, Driver A taps on the screen of her drivinganalysis computing device 800 (including some or all of the structuralcomponents described above for computing device 101) as illustrated inFIG. 8 (e.g., a mobile device running the insurance provider'stelematics program) and enters the license plate number of the vehicleof Driver B in the identification information portion of the screen 801.Upon doing such, her driving analysis computing device 800 generates anegative driving behavior icon 802 (e.g., speeding) and prompts Driver Ato answer “YES” 803 or “NO” 804 to whether or not Driver B is speeding.Upon taping “YES” 803, such information is sent to the insuranceprovider and may be used to grade and/or score Driver B.

In another example, Driver A is a customer of an insurance provider anda subscriber to the insurance provider's telematics program. Driver A isdriving near Driver B, who is not a customer of the insurance providerand not a subscriber to the insurance provider's telematics program.Noting that Driver B is tailgating the vehicle in front of him whiletexting on his mobile device, Driver A taps on the screen of her drivinganalysis computing device 905 (including some or all of the structuralcomponents described above for computing device 101) as illustrated inFIG. 9 (e.g., a mobile device running the insurance provider'stelematics program) and enters the license plate number of the vehicleof Driver B in the identification information portion of the screen 901.Upon doing such, her driving analysis computing device 905 generates afew negative driving behavior icons 902 (e.g., speeding, tailgating, andtexting). Driver A then taps on the negative driving behavior icons 902corresponding to the behavior that she witnessed (e.g., tailgating andtexting). Once Driver A finishes tapping the appropriate negativedriving behavior icons 902, such information is sent to the insuranceprovider and may be used to grade and/or score Driver B.

While the aspects described herein have been discussed with respect tospecific examples including various modes of carrying out aspects of thedisclosure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there arenumerous variations and permutations of the above described systems andtechniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A driving analysis computing devicecomprising: a processor; and memory storing computer-executableinstructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the drivinganalysis computing device to: receive monitoring vehicle driving datafrom vehicle operation sensors within a monitoring vehicle; receivetarget vehicle driving data associated with a target vehicle from thetarget vehicle via one or more vehicle-to-vehicle communications betweenthe monitoring vehicle and the target vehicle; compare the monitoringvehicle driving data with the target vehicle driving data; determine,based on the comparing, a driving behavior associated with the targetvehicle; determine, based on a comparison of a length of time associatedwith the driving behavior and a plurality of thresholds, a severity ofthe driving behavior; calculate, based on the severity of the drivingbehavior, a score for the target vehicle or a driver of the targetvehicle; and output the driving behavior to a display to be identifiedas severely negative when the score is above a severe threshold.
 2. Thedriving analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein calculating thescore comprises assigning a weight to the driving behavior based on theseverity of the driving behavior.
 3. The driving analysis computingdevice of claim 1, the memory storing additional computer-executableinstructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the drivinganalysis computing device to: upload the driving behavior to a server.4. The driving analysis computing device of claim 3, wherein the targetvehicle driving data comprises one or more of a speed of the targetvehicle, a position of the target vehicle, and a direction of travel ofthe target vehicle.
 5. The driving analysis computing device of claim 1,wherein the target vehicle driving data comprises a driver scoreassociated with the target vehicle or a driver of the target vehicle. 6.The driving analysis computing device of claim 1, wherein determiningthe driving behavior comprises: determining a first relative position ofthe target vehicle with respect to the monitoring vehicle at a firsttime; and determining a second relative position of the target vehiclewith respect to the monitoring vehicle at a second time after the firsttime.
 7. The driving analysis computing device of claim 6, whereindetermining the driving behavior comprises: determining that the targetvehicle tailgated the monitoring vehicle, based on the first and secondrelative positions and the first and second times.
 8. The drivinganalysis computing device of claim 6, wherein determining the drivingbehavior comprises: determining that the target vehicle cut off themonitoring vehicle, based on the first and second relative positions andthe first and second times.
 9. A computer-implemented method,comprising: receive, by a driving analysis computing device, monitoringvehicle driving data from vehicle operation sensors within a monitoringvehicle; receiving, by the driving analysis computing device and via oneor more vehicle-to-vehicle communications between the monitoring vehicleand a target vehicle, target vehicle driving data corresponding totarget vehicle operation data of the target vehicle; determining, by thedriving analysis computing device and based on a comparison of themonitoring vehicle driving data with the target vehicle driving data, adriving behavior associated with the target vehicle; determining, basedon a comparison of a length of time associated with the driving behaviorand a plurality of thresholds, a severity of the driving behavior;calculating based on the severity of the driving behavior, a score forthe target vehicle or a driver of the target vehicle; and outputting, bythe driving analysis computing device, the driving behavior to a displayto be identified as severely negative when the score is above a severethreshold.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, whereincalculating the score comprises assigning a weight to the drivingbehavior based on the severity of the driving behavior.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising: retrieving,by the driving analysis computing device, historical driving behaviorassociated with the target vehicle, wherein the score for the targetvehicle is further calculated based on the historical driving behaviorassociated with the target vehicle.
 12. The computer-implemented methodof claim 9, wherein the target vehicle driving data received viavehicle-to-vehicle communication comprises at least one selected fromthe group consisting of a speed of the target vehicle, a position of thetarget vehicle, and a direction of travel of the target vehicle.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the target vehicledriving data received via vehicle-to-vehicle communication comprises adriver score associated with the target vehicle or a driver of thetarget vehicle.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, whereindetermining the driving behavior comprises: determining a first relativeposition of the target vehicle with respect to the monitoring vehicle ata first time; and determining a second relative position of the targetvehicle with respect to the monitoring vehicle at a second time afterthe first time.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, whereindetermining the driving behavior comprises: determining that the targetvehicle tailgated or cut-off the monitoring vehicle, based on the firstand second relative positions and the first and second times.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein determining the drivingbehavior comprises: determining that the target vehicle followed themonitoring vehicle at a safe following distance, yielded to themonitoring vehicle, or defensively avoided the monitoring vehicle, basedon the first and second relative positions and the first and secondtimes.
 17. A driving analysis system associated with a monitoringvehicle, the driving analysis system comprising: one or more vehicleoperation sensors within the monitoring vehicle; a first communicationsystem configured to receive target vehicle driving data from a targetvehicle; and a driving analysis computing device comprising: one or moreprocessors; and memory storing computer-executable instructions, whichwhen executed by the one or more processors, cause the driving analysiscomputing device to: receive monitoring vehicle driving data fromvehicle operation sensors within a monitoring vehicle; receive targetvehicle driving data associated with a target vehicle, wherein thetarget vehicle driving data is received via one or more vehicle-to—vehicle communications between the monitoring vehicle and the targetvehicle; determine, based on a comparison of the monitoring vehicledriving data with the target vehicle driving data, a driving behaviorassociated with the target vehicle; determine, based on a comparison ofa length of time associated with the driving behavior and a plurality ofthresholds, a severity of the driving behavior; calculate, based on theseverity of the driving behavior, a score for the target vehicle or adriver of the target vehicle; and output the driving behavior to adisplay to be identified as severely negative when the score is above asevere threshold.
 18. The driving analysis system of claim 17, whereinthe target vehicle driving data comprises one or more of a speed of thetarget vehicle, a position of the target vehicle, and a direction oftravel of the target vehicle.
 19. The driving analysis system of claim17, the memory storing computer-executable instructions, which whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the driving analysiscomputing device to: display, via a graphical user interface, the targetvehicle driving data.
 20. The driving analysis system of claim 17,wherein a user input received from the driver of the monitoring vehiclecomprises an identity of the target vehicle or the driver of the targetvehicle.